Prompted by a prevalence of building collapse in Nigeria, I penned an article titled - "Stemming The Tide of Building Collapse in Nigeria". I wrote that Piece a couple of days ago not knowing another building collapse was in the offing at Enugu State. In the aforementioned essay, I sought the opinion, input of experts in identifying the causes and proffering solutions to the recurring trend of building collapse in Nigeria.
It appears the high incident of building collapse in Nigeria is not in a hurry to abate anytime soon. Reports emanating from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), indicates that a three-story building under construction at Enugu road, Nsukka, Enugu state, caved in on Saturday 1st March. Some of the workers were said to be trapped in the rubble. No details of casualties at the time of writing this.
The Enugu state Police Command's PRO, Mr. Ebere Amarizu confirmed this incident. He asserted that investigation was underway to ascertain what transpired and if there were casualties. A rescue operation involving officers of the Police, the Nigeria Security & Civil Defense Corps and Federal Road Safety Commission swung into action.
An eyewitness who spoke under anonymity recounted to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), that about seven (7) construction workers - carpenters, bricklayers were working in the building before it caved in at about 2.30 PM.
The pace of building collapse in Nigeria has become one too many. We implore relevant authorities and property developers to do all that is necessary to forestall the ugly trend. Every Nigerian should be worried by this recurring incident. Sticking to international best practices will help to nip this in the bud. Property developers must desist from mortgaging the lives of people ( including themselves and that of their family members) in the altar of economizing costs and building materials.